


Lost in Conquest

by Niji_Hitomi_Iscariot, Silver_Eternity



Series: The Demon King [4]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birth, Demons, Four Horsemen, Kitsune, M/M, Magic, Mind-fuckery, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-24
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 20:24:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/815668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niji_Hitomi_Iscariot/pseuds/Niji_Hitomi_Iscariot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Eternity/pseuds/Silver_Eternity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gin's kits arrive, peacefully thanks to a favor organized by Grimmjow, but what effect is this having on the First Horseman? And when Ichigo suddenly turns up in the family way the last thing he needs is a mate who doesn't remember how it happened. Does his brother have the answer? Or is this just a temporary solution?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He Really Does Look Good With Kits

**Author's Note:**

> Warning, there is mention of birth in this chapter but it's not graphic, and of course, the birth comes from mpreg, but you guys should be expecting that by now. Since we left Gin expecting at the end of Part 2. Anyway, enjoy! Ja ne!

 

****

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. The gentle caress of the spring breeze, the scent of the flowering trees, the warmth of the sun returning to a world previously wrapped in cold and ice, and the sound of...the sound of...the...sound...  
  
"AUGH!"  
  
Whipping around in his seat, Ichigo stared frustrated at the whimpering kitsune, floating inches above the ground. Rounded hugely in the last days of his pregnancy, Gin bit his lip, acutely aware that his noises had disturbed the King. He tried to smile but the raised orange eyebrow made him duck his head apologetically, ears falling down. Ichigo rolled his eyes and tilted his head so he looked up at the sky. That was all the invitation the silver-haired male needed. With more grace than should have been possible in that stage of fecundity, Gin pounced on the King's right arm, clutching it tightly.  
  
"Happy now?" He asked, and Gin nodded purring and cooing. "C'mon. Let's go see if Shiro has that book translated yet."  
  
They made their way to the library of the Shrine. The Horsemen had settled in with their mates, but due to the long millennia of neglect, they had a lot of work to make up. Death especially; with so many humans dying every moment, every second, there were innumerable souls sitting around needing to be collected and ferried around, not to mention those with unnaturally extended lives he needed to take. War was on in the west, famine in the Middle East and other third world countries overtaken and abused by larger powers. And now, with Gin so close to kitting, as they had set up before Renji had come home from the conflict and Grimmjow had gone in his place. War always led to Conquest one way or another after all, and that was enough for the Magic to accept Grimmjow taking over until Renji could come back.  
  
So, when the King entered the peaceful place of knowledge with the kitsune literally on his arm, he sought out the vibrant red-haired tiger, where he was filling out damage reports and organizing the last intelligence sent to him. Just because he wasn't on the front line didn't mean he could afford to be out of touch with how things were going. As soon as the kits were born and Gin was settled with them, he'd be right back to work. It would take some doing, but somehow he had to curb humanity's insatiable lust for conflict. Hopefully this would be like the last great war he'd been a part of and would satisfy the egotistical primates for a while.  
  
"War, I've a bit of a problem..." Ichigo gestured to where Gin was rubbing his head against the orangette's shoulder, purring and wagging his tails.  
  
Shiro looked up from a tome thick enough that he needed to sit on two others to read the center of it, and large enough that it had its own table. He laughed, his reading glasses sliding down his nose, "Again, Gin?"  
  
The kitsune merely purred harder and Ichigo sighed.  
  
Renji immediately abandoned the reports to rise to his feet and go to his mate. "Gin, love, darling, you know Ichi's circulation gets cut off much faster'n mine," he coaxed. "He ain't s'thick as I am," he added with a little grin, sidling up to his mate and kissing his temple.  
  
Aizen watched with amusement from his spot on the ceiling. He was Cocooning. Literally encased in an actual caterpillar cocoon and hung from the library ceiling. Nobody had really wanted to know, and he was disturbingly comfortable right where he was, often using magic to bring a book up for him to read. As he had been the only Horseman alive and Awake, there was little backlog for him to attend to. Thus, he was preparing for something much larger, and more complicated. The time wasn't quite right yet, but soon.  
  
Ulquiorra, slumped into a white-and-black ball of curled limbs and wings, was under his mate's chair. He couldn't sleep at night, the dark still frightened him, and he refused to sleep if his mate wasn't near. He often woke from nightmares, the content of which he refused to speak about, but always caused him to seek comfort from his mate with a terrified desperation. His long tail curled around Shiro's wrist and twitching occasionally was sometimes the only sign he was alive, especially during quiet times like this.  
  
Ichigo rolled his eyes and Gin launched himself at Renji with a grin. The King stepped to the side to peer over the reports, and let his bangs fall over his face. Grimmjow had been gone for seven weeks, as Gin was due any day now, but the orangette missed him terribly. His meditation exercises were the only thing that kept him from wishing the war finished and bringing his Consort home. Of course, this was the real reason the kitsune kept latching on to him. Gin was the Jester, designed specifically to keep the King entertained so he wouldn't give into the petty human desires that would unravel all of reality, like wishing a conflict over just so he could cuddle his husband.  
  
He fingered the edge of a paper. Seven weeks...and not a single word from the blue-haired panther with whom he shared everything. Gathering his courage he smiled at the pair, and then at his brother.  
  
"I'll be in my room if any of you need me. Someone," he slid an only half-irritated look over to Gin, "interrupted my concentration in the courtyard."  
  
The King left, and Shiro sighed. If only he could figure out a way to make his twin happy again without destroying the fabric of time and space by creating a duplicate Grimmjow. He sat back in his chair and let his hand dangle to rest on Ulquiorra's head. About to say something to his other half, he opened his mouth, when Gin let out a terrified squeak, and everyone froze.  
  
Holding onto his tiger's arm, the kitsune's tails were all three stuck out straight as liquid of some kind ran down his legs, soaking his hakama. The traditional fabric, worn because they were easier to adjust around his constantly growing belly and better protection than his fur after the incident mid-summer where he'd fainted, stuck to his legs, darkening. For once, his ice blue eyes were wide open, or at least as wide as they usually got, and fear crossed his features.  
  
"Eh...Tora..."  
  
Renji was instantly scooping him into his arms and running for the infirmary, bellowing for the midwives with all the power in his considerable, magic-reinforced, booming voice. Actually, he was more screaming for midwives, healers, and pretty much anyone who could help his mate with the birth. Like most first-time fathers, he didn't handle the knowledge that the _birth was imminent_ well and was panicking.  
  
Ulquiorra squawked in alarm and jolted up so fast he hit his head on the bottom of Shiro's seat, horns shattering the wood as they slammed into it, tail tightening around his wrist. Shiro fell off the chair as the thing tipped over in a shower of splinters in a crash. Landing on his elbow, his hand gripping Ulquiorra's tail by reflex, the albino laughed, pulling the monochromatic demon down on top of him across the broken furniture.  
  
"Guess we should go help 'im calm War down, ne?"  
  
Aizen sighed and his magic flashed out as he used it to prepare the not-closet where Gin had made his nest. He smirked in amusement. "Gin will be fine, he is made to give birth with little to no trouble, but Renji, of course, panics."  
  
Ulquiorra blinked owlishly. "I...yesh, I shuppose-" he cleared his throat, a spark of leaf green flashing between his teeth as his regeneration fixed his bitten tongue. "Still, I suppose we should calm him. His panic will only stress his mate."  
  
"Indeed," Aizen said with a chuckle. "You may need to bodily subdue him. He will want to be with his mate, but Vixen kitsune tend to get...very, very violent when a Reynard is near their Birthing Den. They fear him killing the cubs, which is usually ridiculous since he is usually the sire, but instinct still typically will not tolerate any Reynards. Mind, Gin is rather unique, so he may have a completely unexpected reaction."  
  
"Wait…Vixen? Inn't that th' word fer a female fox?" Shiro shook his head with a confused frown.  
  
His mate chuckled. "Because kitsune can change gender at will, they use the terms Vixen and Reynard to describe the dam and sire of a litter of kits. Gin is carrying the litter, so he is a Vixen. Renji sired them, so—"  
  
"He's my Reynard!" A cheerful voice from the hall cut the bat off.  
  
Gin, in all his soggy glory, had shifted around to be riding his mate's considerable shoulder, using his mist cloud to support his belly and legs as he directed the redhead to run back past the library. Birthing was easy, and the running like a psychotic headless chicken was entertaining him while labor progressed. He also figured that if he kept Renji going the tiger would eventually tire out and then the kitsune could get down to business. Just because his water broke was no reason to panic, but he knew better than to try and reason with his terrified mate. So he giggled.  
  
"Here, here, in here." He pulled on the crimson ponytail and brought them right back to where they started, Shiro laughing again at the expectant father's lost expression.  
  
"I…wha…yer no' givin' birth in 'ere!" Renji, poor man, sounded so lost, and still rather frightened for his mate.  
  
Aizen and Ulquiorra both snickered, joining Shiro's mirth. "No, he's not," Death supplied, "but your panic amuses him, which is good by the way, so please do continue."  
  
Shiro pounded the floor, still twisted in the mangled remains of the chair. He had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Oh Red! Th' look on yer face!"  
  
Renji whined like a dog rather than the tiger he was. Was it so bad to worry for the love of his lives?  
  
Gin also smiled, between contractions at the moment, and nuzzled his mate. "It's ok, we were having fun, weren't we? Wanna go to my nest now?"  
  
Calmer in his confusion, War pouted. "Yes, Mate. I do."  
  
"Okies." The kitsune sing-songed, and pulled on the ponytail still in his hand. "This way."  
  
The two made their way to the East building, to the not-closet. It was dark, secluded and private. No windows, one door, and filled with so many blankets, pillows, towels and other soft materials, arranged just so. Upon arriving, Gin pulled Renji into the room, and slammed the door. The tiger may have been panicked about it, but he was all the sex demon needed to take care of this end of things. Of course, the silver-haired man swore up and down that it had nothing to do with retribution regarding the fact that he'd had to spend the last several months uncomfortable and emotional due to the voracity with which Renji mated him that first time. Of course it wasn't all the Horseman's fault, though outside the door Shiro winced when the whimpering sound of the vibrant redhead came around the cracks.  
  
Ulquiorra mimicked his Mage. "I think...we'd best not intrude. Or we will be next, mate."  
  
Shiro giggled and settled in the hallway to cuddle his mate and wait for the redhead to emerge again. "Yah, just wanted ta make sure he didn't kill 'im."  
  
The next several hours were spent in patience, the ashen pair reading, or playing chess, or just enjoying each other's company. Once, Ichigo stopped by to check on the progress of things but he didn't stay long, only enough to bring drinks and a small meal for the waiting audience. Eventually as the sun was beginning to set, casting the entire hall in soft purple, pink and orange hues, the door finally opened again.  
  
Renji had an alarming new collection of scars and was favoring his entire right arm, the hand bones reforming before their eyes though they had obviously been reduced to powder, and he was limping.  
  
"War, are you—"  
  
"I don' wanna talk 'bout it," he warbled before limping down the hall toward the kitchen in search of his own food. Gin had refused to eat until the kits were born and had nursed for the first time. That meant the tiger hadn't been allowed to eat either.  
  
Ulquiorra blinked rapidly several times. "...oh dear."  
  
Shiro whistled, then climbed to his feet. He pushed the door around gently, "Gin...?"  
  
"Hai, hai!" The voice was entirely too cheerful for having gone through all of that, but the frame of the kitsune was more truthful than his voice. Hair limp, and a dull soft grey, his mist cloud hung on the floor in the corners, and he was laying heavily on the prop of pillows that shielded the nest from the door. "Ah, Shiro-kun. Come in an' see 'em!"  
  
The albino entered and knelt next to the wall of blankets. Curled in balls of quickly drying fluff were three, almost entirely feral looking fox kits the size of the typical newborn human. They had tiny hands instead of paws, and their faces were more human than vulpine, but all three had tiny conical ears and each sported a single floofy fox tail. One was dark grey with blond tiger markings, one was maroon with white paws and tail tip and one, amazingly was white—all white. This one fidgeted as the albino watched, a glare coming across his tiny features, and opened serious turquoise eyes to glare at the newcomers disturbing his rest.  
  
Ulquiorra peeked in the door, silently inquiring if he was allowed to come in and meet the kits. Being demonic in nature, and not kitsune, it was highly likely that the bat would be perceived as a threat by the newly delivered Vixen, and the last thing the Fourth wanted to do was cause undue stress to him.  
  
"Ah, Qio-san! Look, look! See! Otou-san came to us." Gin pointed tiredly at the blond and grey kit, who yawned and flopped over, a smile on his face.  
  
The only female was the little maroon one, and she kept trying to climb awkwardly on top of the white one. Like their animal cousins, kitsune kits could move around almost immediately after birth. They would be mostly fox-like until they were about a year old, at which point their abilities as a kitsune would emerge and they'd begin learning things on the level of a human toddler, like speech, reading, and the social interactions that they'd need to exploit later to gain Essence from humans to fuel their powers and abilities.  
  
Ichigo appeared behind Ulquiorra at that point and took a seat next to his twin. Gin purred at the three of them, one tail wagging limply, and the orangette asked, "How come they only have one tail?"  
  
Both Gin and Shiro started to answer, but the exhaustion of labor gave the kitsune the incentive to let the Mage take over. "They won' get their second tail 'til they're at least a hundred years old."  
  
"Does that mean Gin's over...?" The King asked.  
  
"M three hundred an thirty, give er take a decade." Gin laughed as Ichigo's eyes went wide at the implications of just hold old their Uncle Kisuke had been.  
  
Ulquiorra's tail lashed and he resisted the urge to snarl at the mention, as he made his way to kneel on Shiro's other side. The only reason the poor man had been forced to live so unnaturally long had been the curse he had been tricked into casting, a curse that tortured the caster just as much as the targets. But this was a happy occasion. He was not going to spoil it with dark thoughts, simply crooning to the kits as he petted them gently.  
  
The female tumbled over backwards and looked up at the green eyes of the bat and cooed, hands waving in the air as if to claw at his fur. The white one made a growly type noise, kicking the female, who wailed and began to cry. The white one looked satisfied with himself, and the grey one blinked at his siblings confused, perfectly content to sit leaning against his momma. Ichigo picked up the little female, humming to her to quiet her, and rocking her gently. Shiro watched carefully for a little while, memorizing the appearance of his twin with the child. Then he turned and tickled the white boy, earning himself another growly noise, to which he laughed.  
  
"What ya gonna call 'em?"  
  
"The white one is Toshiro. The little girl is Rangiku, an' I'm gonna name Otousan's reincarnation Kisuke, after his grandpa, if nobody minds. Renji said it was ok, but that I should ask you guys first. I dun wanna upset anybody, but I'd really like ta name 'im after m' tou-san." The kitsune looked pleadingly at Ulquiorra, and the twins mimicked him, waiting for Death's response.  
  
Ulquiorra gave him a soft smile. "I don't mind, and I'm sure the others won't either," he assured. "Kisuke was a kind, loving boy just a little too smart for his own good, tricked by an evil creature just as the rest of us were. The sins of past lives are forgiven, always."  
  
Shiro grinned, soundly picking up Toshiro, and leaning into Ulquiorra's shoulder. "Mah, that's great. Check this little guy out, he's all scowls and grumpiness, like Blue in the morning. Look it!"  
  
Said kitsune pup growled again, wiggling and trying to escape his 'uncle's' grasp unsuccessfully. Ichigo looked over and smiled softly, holding Rangiku closer, and petting her ears gently. Then he set her down next to her momma, where she immediately grabbed onto Kisuke with a yawn. The King stood, the same sad smile on his face.  
  
"I think we should let Gin rest," He suggested as the tired silver fox yawned widely himself. "Congrats, Gin. They're adorable." He didn't wait for anyone else to answer before giving a small bow and leaving.  
  
At the end of Gin's yawn, he smacked his lips a little and said, "Y'know, he looks pretty good with kits."  
  
"Yeah, King's al'ays been good with kids. Musta been growin' up wi' our sisters an' Goat Face after Kaa-chan died." Shiro scratched his head, and shook it slightly. "I wish he could have a kid of his own, then maybe he wouldn't be so lonely."  
  
No one in the nest room noticed as Magic leapt to answer its master's desire, eager to do him this service after waiting so long. But in the library, Aizen shuddered inside his cocoon, frowning. Such surges of magic were usually the result of a Royal Directive...and yet Ichigo's aura was...oh. Oh, dear. The little Mage had finally come into his power.


	2. Welcome Home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Konnichiwa, minna! There is also mpreg in this part of the series, but I hope we've handled it as tactfully this time around as we did in the last part.

Two months later, Aizen's fear appeared to come to pass as Ichigo sped across the courtyard, past the wide windows in the West building to the bathing house a hand clasped over his mouth. He barely made it to the toilet, modern in spite of the more traditional surroundings, and was violently ill as everything he'd eaten in the last twenty-four hours came back up to greet him. Only twenty-four hours because at almost this exact same time the previous day, he'd done the same thing. In fact, the last two weeks, almost every day his morning ritual had begun with dashing to the bathhouse. Now, he was seriously beginning to consider wishing the stupid toilet be located closer to his bedroom.  
  
"Ugh..." He moaned, mentally wishing once again that his blue-haired lover would return regardless of the consequences of reality.  
  
As though responding to his mental desires, there was a ripple through the Shrine's senses, informing the Royal of the new arrival. Conquest had come home. Renji, now that his mate was okay and their kits developing well, was able to return to work, and several months of practice with his Flit, thanks to Ichigo and Grimmjow's suggestions, meant he could now go to work and then come home at night to be with his family. It had come to be a 'nine-to-five-job'.  
  
Regardless, the panther came stalking into bedroom of the sanctuary he shared with the King, paws padding silently across the stone floor in his demon form, looking thoroughly exhausted.  
  
A very few minutes later, Ichigo returned, hand absently rubbing his stomach and looking like...well...Death warmed over. Sleepy, dull amber blinked in confusion and his brows drew together. "Yer...home?"  
  
A slow smile took over his face, and he immediately crawled into bed to cuddle the one person he knew for certain would make him feel better, paws, fur and all. He pulled gently on the feline's shoulders, nuzzling his head under Conquest's chin with a satisfied sigh, even the way he smelled, covered in sweat and battle, was heavenly to the monarch.  
  
"Yep, love, I'm home," The blunette rumbled affectionately, petting his mate's hair.  
  
He smelled...different. Sweeter? But he wasn't thinking about that now. Right now he was thinking about how perfect and warm he felt in his arms, how content he was to just touch his King and mate. How good it felt to be home. Their good feeling was interrupted almost immediately however by a second round of nausea.  
  
Ichigo rolled away, sitting up fairly quickly to avoid spitting stomach acid on his other half. If he focused on something far away and tried not to think about doing anything but just sitting there he just might be able to get away with not running to the toilet again. The last week had taught him that.  
  
"Ugh...not again."  
  
"What's th' matter?"  
  
Conquest was concerned, blinking at his mate, not sure if he should cuddle him for comfort or refrain from touching. He decided on the latter since the orangette had moved away, and perched much like a cat on his belly, ears flicking curiously.  
  
"Gonna...urp..." Ichigo belched, holding his stomach and then ran. Off the bed, out the door with a slam and back to the bathhouse, leaving a trail of open doors and blowing leaves in his wake.  
  
The panther blinked. He was…sick? Wait. The King didn't get sick. What the fuck? It was practically audible as the poor Horseman's mental gears ground together. After he nearly broke his brain, he gave up and went slinking after his mate to wait for him outside the bathhouse.  
  
"G-grimm...?" The King whimpered from where he leaned against the wall next to the toilet.  
  
Conquest looked about in confusion, and said, "I'm here."  
  
Grimm? Who was this Grimm? He might not be who the King wanted, but he was there if Ichigo would accept him as a substitute.  
  
"Could you get Shiro...he said he had some kind of spell that makes it easier, I think...it worked on Gin." His voice was gravelly, and tired...so, so tired. He actually dozed off a little, eyes closed and breathing softly.  
  
"...Ichi? Yer King," the Horseman said carefully. "Why don' ya jus' Order yer sickness away? Say 'I am no' sick' an' make it true?"  
  
Still, he rose to his paws noiselessly, ready to pad off and get the Mage. He was just a little concerned as to why the King was not using his power.  
  
"That wouldn't be right. It's not their fault they're making me sick, and Gin said it'll go away in a couple of months." The orangette shifted around so he could look at his Consort out the open door.  
  
"Ah. I'll git th' Mage then."  
  
Them? Who, or what, the fuck was—oh! Well, that explained the sweet scent. He'd ask about it later, and he went bounding off on all fours, streaking out of the room to fetch the Mage to tend to his ailing King.  
  
Shiro looked up from his customary position, above a snoozing Ulquiorra, reading some thick, ancient tome detailing how to channel magic or what symbols were best to use during which time of the year, which gods to call upon or how to expand his mind such that he could use the not-voice that the others did.  
  
"Blue, you're home! Wait...why are you running? Is King ok? He didn't start bleeding again, did he?!"  
  
"Not bleedin', jus' sick," the panther replied, "said ya knew a spell ta help, asked me ta git'cha." First 'Grimm', now 'Blue'? Why was the Mage calling him that? So weird. Shiro knew that wasn't his name.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. That. Um..."  
  
The albino shuffled some papers around on his desk, and when the tail curled around his wrist didn't let him move his arm, he absently uncurled it and held the tip in his hand while he used the previously captured appendage to grab a parchment that had was looked like a recipe written on it.  
  
"Here we go. Just take this to the kitchen. The coffee pot will know what to do."  
  
Conquest took it in his lips, carefully holding it so it didn't get any spit on it, and once more took off on all fours. He had no desire to get it all icky but he traveled fastest in this form and as far as he could tell he needed to get this to his King as soon as possible.  
  
Shiro, in the meantime, once again unwound the stubborn tail from his wrist. "Qio-love, I gotta see ta Ichi, he's havin' a bad day. He didn' sleep much last night, an' ya know that always makes it worse in th' mornin'."  
  
"Return soon, Mate," Death requested sleepily, slinking out from under the chair. As long as he would be getting no more sleep, he might as well get some work done.  
  
"I shall help," Aizen sighed and for the first time in four months, he started to move.  
  
He wriggled, then shrugged, then he flexed and the casing shattered into fine, glittering dust as his wings unfurled to let him glide to the floor. They were more than twice their previous size. The colors were more pure, more brilliant, he had a double rainbow on each wing now, swirled in a mesmerizing, hypnotic design, and their glitter and shine was somehow even brighter, almost like a glow.  
  
"You have both passed up numerous remedies so obvious they were never recorded in any book, and thus were forgotten by people."  
  
The light, the shine and the words were a trap combination for Shiro. He frowned, scanning his notes quickly, as though he was sure he'd have written these things down, in spite of what the butterfly had just said.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
The butterfly reached out and stilled the albino's hands. "Natural remedies and herbs. Raspberry leaf and honey teas have been used by women for countless centuries to calm morning sickness and settle their stomachs, something both of you overlooked in favor of complicated potions. I am not surprised, seeing as neither you, nor the King, are women and wouldn't think to ask a female, but such simple, and might I add completely natural, methods are easily forgotten by being so common. Frankly, they would be better for him."  
  
"Uh..." The albino scratched his head absently, feeling like he'd overlooked an obvious resource. "I think that potion I gave Blue had honey, raspberry and ginger in it. Th' book said somethin' 'bout bein' used in th' Middle Ages fer pregnancy, I think."  
  
"Naturally. As I said, it has been used for centuries. Come, I'm sure Grimm has delivered the potion by now and he will need us." Aizen gave an indulgent smile.  
  
Grimmjow indeed had delivered the potion in a coffee mug, on his back feet this time so he didn't spill it. By then, Ichigo had once again managed to crawl to bed, one of the priestesses had come past, given him a mop bucket and a soft smile with a few words of encouragement born of having helped her own mother with this same exact problem. So, he was curled on his side, dozing but with the bucket close by just in case. When the feline entered the room, he opened an eye and smiled again.  
  
"Faster to run with paws than feet, ne?"  
  
"Much faster," his Consort replied, padding over and handing him the cup. "Can't run wit'out spillin' though."  
  
The king took a whiff of the potion and shuddered. "Eh...you sure this is the same stuff that Gin drank?"  
  
The potion smelled positively foul. Neither were quite sure how it was supposed to stop Ichigo's vomiting rather than inducing it, but who were they to argue with the Mage?  
  
"He gave me th' recipe an' said ta give it ta the coffeemaker. It gave me this. So, I guess so." The panther shrugged, and tried to reassure the King by licking a few drops from his hand where it had spilled just a bit. "It don't taste half as bad as it smells."  
  
Ichigo eyed him suspiciously, but knocked the drink back in one go. He was right, though it smelled atrocious, it was sweet with a subtle sour undertone and a bite that tickled the back of his tongue. It was so good in fact that now that the mug was empty, the orangette almost wished for more.  
  
He made a noise of amusement, then looked over his lover, "Alright, now that my stomach should be settled, get over here."  
  
The Horseman grinned and climbed up into the bed, curling around and cuddling his mate. "Glad yer feelin' better."  
  
"Of course I'm feeling better, you're home." The King smiled and buried his nose in the black and white fur of his Consort's arm.  
  
Conquest cuddled into him all comfortable, letting him relax from the violent heaving so he wouldn't be too distressed when he asked about what was bugging him. "Hey Ichi...d'ya know how far along ya are?"  
  
"Hmm...that's one of the weirdest things, y'know...Aizen says I'm only about eight weeks in, but that's ridiculous." He sighed. It was a constant debate that he simply couldn't stand even thinking about.  
  
"Why's it ridiculous?" Black, but soft-skinned hands caressed his belly gently, watching the sharp claws. All that meant was whoever the King had fancied two months ago had to be the father.  
  
"Well, cuz, as far as I know, the only one capable of immaculate conception is me, and I know I didn't make the Wish. I'm not against it, though getting used to the idea took some severe control on both words and thoughts at first." The orangette laughed a bit, and watched the way his Consort was petting him. "It just shouldn't have been possible."  
  
"Oh everybody knows immaculate conception's bullshit. The King at th' time didn't want 'is lover stoned ta death so 'e made her virgin again with a Directive," the feline chuckled, waving that off. "But no, wha' I meant was, why wouldn't it be possible? Was yer lover at th' time sterile 'r sumthin?"  
  
"Lover? What do you mean? Since we got together I haven't touched anyone else, not even Shiro." Ichigo frowned, more confused than anything else.  
  
"But…tha' don't make no sense." The panther frowned, his stroking coming to a stop. Of course, what he didn't say was it made no sense for Ichigo not to have lovers. Lots of them. "I can't be th' father, so ya must'a been wit' somebody."  
  
The smaller male shifted so he could look the feline in the eye. "And I'm telling you I wasn't. You're the only person I've had sex with in almost four years."  
  
The panther sat up, frowning deeper. "But…tha' ain't how it works. I been gone four months...c'mon, surely ya know who?" He wanted to know. He didn't care, he'd still raise the child with all the love he had, but he wanted to know who.  
  
"I know it makes no sense. None of them will explain it to me, but there hasn't been anyone else. I swear! Don't you believe me?" Ichigo also sat up, putting a bit of space between them so that he could rest against the wall.  
  
"Well..."  
  
Damn it. The King couldn't lie, unless he'd gotten enough control that not everything was a Directive. Since this 'Grimm' hadn't been summoned when Ichigo inquired for him, Conquest could only assume this was true, but even then there could be slip ups so as a rule all of the incarnations of the King tended to be incredibly honest. Plus, he didn't want to call his mate a liar. He fidgeted nervously.  
  
"I jus'…there's gotta be someone! S' th' only way this could'a happened, I just wanna know who, I won't even kill 'em," he promised, very uncomfortable.  
  
"That's it, isn't it?" Ichigo hadn't quite gotten complete control over everything and still needed to watch the way he phrased direct sentences but when the statement was already true reality didn't need to bend to change it, which was why nothing happened when he followed that up with, "You don't believe me. I live with you for two and a half years, date you for over three, and have been your husband for the better part of one, but you don't believe me when I say I've never cheated on you. I don't know how this happened. I don't know why, but I do know that it's a gift. And if all you're going to do is sit there and ignore what I'm saying then I don't know if I have anything else to say right now."  
  
Internally he cursed at the way his bottom lip quivered, and the stinging in the corners of his eyes. He had never been emotional, or well, he'd never been tearful. Angry, yes. Violent, sure. But prone to crying? Never. Not since his mother had died. So, the way his eyes threatened to water, and his heart clenched in his chest as even more painful due to him fighting them.  
  
Conquest didn't know what to say or how to react. He just wasn't understanding, and what the King said only confused him. Dating for over three years? Be together with for two and a half? He didn't remember any such thing, but his mate was in distress.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm not ignorin' what yer tellin' me, it just…I can't bring m'self ta believe it." He reached for him, wanting to comfort.  
  
The King wanted nothing more than to fall into that embrace, the one he'd been missing for so long, but something held him back. He frowned at the black paw-like hand. "Are your hands always going to be like that?"  
  
The panther blinked down at his hands. They'd always been like that, so... "I guess. S' it bother you?"  
  
"A little. I miss your hands. So strong. The only one who's ever gone those places on me." The orangette sadly took the offered limb in both of his own, the pale bronze a drastic contrast to the pitch black. "Why would you think I'd cheat on you, Grimm?"  
  
He blinked for a moment, seemingly confused by the question and more so confused by Ichigo addressing him by that odd name again. "Um...yer King? An' th' world's yer slut if you felt so inclined? An' ya need heirs? An' it's jus' kinda what Kings do."  
  
The orangette scoffed. "You know the only other partner I've ever had was my twin. Why would I even want to get involved with someone else? And now, obviously," His hand touched his stomach, "the idea of heirs is taken care of. Qio says the first born is always a set of twins and the older of the two will be the heir. So, these two will be enough. Besides, is that all I am anymore?" The last was said quietly, with a tremor of fear that spoke of hidden terrors buried deep in the orangette's heart.  
  
"Is...what all ya are?" The feline's tail formed a question mark.  
  
Ichigo had wandered into territory completely beyond his comprehension. A King with no lovers except his mate? Mind-breaking! It just didn't work like that! Eventually the King would lose interest in the mate, either undoing the mating or starting to bring new people and things to bed to spice it up but sooner or later even that would get old and they would once again have to start looking elsewhere. Living for millennia, it just wasn't possible to stay sexually satisfied with one person.  
  
The expression on Ichigo's face was such that it clashed horribly with the next sentence out of his mouth. His eyebrows were drawn in, creasing the skin deeply. His mouth was a straight line, if slightly turned down at the corners. His nose flared ever so slightly with his breath. His chin was tilted such that he was looking up at the blue panther, but those eyes. Expressive, vibrant, and endless. At the moment, filled with a sort of melancholy resignation that meant whatever the Horseman had meant, the words he'd said were absolutely the wrong ones. However, the King didn't comment on them.  
  
After a moment of watching—no, searching the blunette's own eyes, he drew a breath, "I think I'm hungry."  
  
Then he rose from the bed and wrapping a robe around himself, made his way out of their private building to the common areas, willing himself not to think about what had been implied in that conversation.  
  
Frowning, the feline went after him, confused and lost and clinging to the only thing he really knew as truth at that point: He, First Horseman, Conquest, was mated to the current King, and his mate was pregnant and upset. He didn't know why exactly he was upset or how he was pregnant and kept insisting he was the father, and he really didn't understand how he'd just messed up, but he was aware he'd made a grave error. It needed to be corrected, though he was unsure how, so he simply trailed after his monarch, a little lost and a lot concerned.  
  
Halfway through the courtyard, Ichigo spun and looked down at his Consort, who was padding along on all fours. His frowned deepened, becoming more menacing. "You still don't believe me." It didn't need to be a Directive. "I can hear it in your aura. I don't know how or why or even when you lost faith in me but you know what? I can guarantee you that these two will come out looking just like you, and then..." He was vibrating with a combination of anger and pain, "And then, you'll have to beg me to forgive you for doubting me." Then he spun on his heel and marched into the common rooms without another word.


	3. A Slip of the Tongue

The Directive hit the panther harder than any blow. He was frozen in place for several long, long moments before he went into an absolute _fit_! Howling, clawing, screaming and carrying on, his rant spanning so many different languages only someone equally versed, like Aizen, would have understood even the general gist. How _dare_ he?! Conquest was trying to be a good mate dammit, trying so hard, he even forced himself not to get angry when Ichigo wouldn't say who the father was, but then he goes and does _this_?! Forcibly changes the children to _be_ Conquest's when they were someone else's by birthright, and then, _then_ enslave his mate, his own mate, a Horseman, by means of a Directive?! His roar of unbridled rage shook the very castle foundations. No! Conquest debased himself for no-one, not even his mate! _He refused!_ But it was a Directive, he would have no choice. How could he? How could his mate, his loved and trusted mate, _turn him into a goddamned puppet?!_  
  
"Mah...so much anger, Kitty-kun."  
  
Gin just happened to be making his own way back from the bathhouse at that moment. The triplets were down for a nap and he had just finished a much needed soak in the hot spring. He'd missed the Directive, but the tell-tale snap of power hadn't seemed strong enough to cause that kind of reaction from the First.  
  
" _Snarrrrrrl!_ He's fuckin' som'body else, I don' giv-a-shit 'bout tha', bu' 'e won' tell me 'oo," Said feline snapped, pacing, accent thick with anger, "an' jus' Directed 'is lover's kids ta become mine, an' me ta grovel fer fergiv'ness when things 'appen as he's Directed! I grovel fer no-one! I refused ta debase m'self even fer the _goddamn King o' th' Abyss 'imself!_ How DARE he abuse me dis way?!" He let out another shriek, leaping for the nearest non-living thing and tearing it to shreds in his rage and frustration.  
  
The kitsune summoned his mist cloud, just so he could easily get out of the way of the rampaging Horseman. "Well...now, granted 'M not 'xactly an expert on th' subject, but he ain't left the Shrine since ya left. 'Member, he took th' semester off so ya could cover fer Tora? Thanks fer that, by the way. An' I know he ain't sleepin' wit' any o' us. Shiro's been holed up wit' Qio th' whole time, an' So-So only jus' broke outta his cocoon t'day. Yer th' only one I c'n think of him sleeping wit', an' well...wouldn't I know?" The sex demon implied that his role as the Jester meant that keeping the King entertained was his job, so if the King wanted a concubine or any other sort of escort, he'd be the one to pick them out.  
  
Conquest paused, calming just slightly, and raked his hands through his hair. "Yeah...yah, tha' makes sense. So, fergettin' the random pregnancy bit, I ain't gonna fergive th' rest so easily! Ya know I don' grovel, Gin."  
  
No, indeed, he had been tortured and killed, once had very nearly had his core-self destroyed, which would have removed him even from the reincarnation cycle, but he had never betrayed himself to grovel, beg, or debase himself. That would have destroyed his core much more than physically harming it.  
  
"Bu' he's gone an' made it a Directive! Th' second I seen that kid 'e's carryin', I'll be forced ta betray m'own self an' all I ever stood fer. Ya know as well as I do it'll break somethin' in me 'at can't git fixed," he said the last part quieter, body sagging where it stood.  
  
His mate was going to destroy the thing that made him who he was and he could do nothing to stop it. That hurt more than anything.  
  
"Mebbe ya need ta try an' get him ta reverse it? He said somethin' 'bout fergivin' ya, right?" The kitsune shrugged. "Earn his fergiveness b'fore th' kits 're born." He rolled over so he could look at the feline upside down, hanging backwards off of his cloud. "I said a whole buncha stuff that I didn' mean when I was knocked up. Nah, I know I couldn't change Reality like he c'n, but it didn' mean I didn' hurt m' Tora by sayin' 'em. Mebbe ya should set aside that he's th' King fer a bit an' jus' love 'im as your mate. Th' Directive'll sort itself out. If nothin' else, Shiro'll take care o' it when he finds out. Cuz I know fer a fact, yer mate's in there pourin' his heart out ta his twin as we speak. 'M sure he knows 'xactly how much he hurt ya, but he doe'n't know how ta fix it. He's still pretty young, ya know."  
  
The panther looked _very_ confused. Young? He was King. And set aside him being King? His brain couldn't comprehend it.  
  
"...I'll not be goin' ta him," he decided stubbornly. "I crawl fer nobody, not even 'im. I will not go crawlin' or grovelin'," he repeated firmly with a growl, as though proving it to himself more than Gin, before turning on his paws, dropping to all fours, and taking off.  
  
He wanted a hot bath, then to find two or three priestesses who would coo and squeal over his feline features, pet and maybe massage him a little, and then get some damn rest.  
  
"Well, that ain't gonna go over well..." Gin muttered and used his cloud to appear in the library, where true to form Ichigo was sobbing, angry and basically exploding things almost faster than Aizen and Ulquiorra could fix them. "Yup, definitely not gonna end well." He ducked a flying a book and approached the butterfly, "So-so..."  
  
The butterfly, despite making semi-frantic motions to keep a plethora of spells up and running and aimed at the correct objects, seemed perfectly normal when he replied, "Yes Gin?"  
  
He sounded like he was sitting in a chair reading, not desperately trying to keep the library intact through the King's emotional onslaught. Ulquiorra was doing the same, chanting under his breath in Sumerian as his mate comforted his monarch.  
  
"We've got a problem wit'...um...First." He whispered the name, but Ichigo heard him anyway, and a bust of some philosopher went flying through where the kitsune had been not two seconds before to shatter against the wall. The kitsune made a nervous noise as his ears went back, "Mebbe we should talk elsewhere...?"  
  
"No!" The King was on his feet. "What's the fucker up to now? Off ta kill somethin'? To fuck somethin'? Accuses me of sleepin' around and then he's gonna go off an' do it, isn't he?" Several books exploded into particles of paper only to be repaired immediately by Shiro.  
  
Gin whimpered. He didn't know for certain but he had suspicions. "I think...um...well...uh...see, yer Majesty, he...uh...mebbe he's jus',...yeah, I got nothin'...So-so? Help!" He hid behind the brunette butterfly, deeming the instability in the King's emotions enough to warrant both protection and formality.  
  
"Enough, Ichigo!" Aizen's voice cracked like a whip of pure power, and his use of the King's Name lent even more power to his command.  
  
He could not overcome the King, exactly, but he could exert some considerable influence, which was what he wanted. He needed Ichigo calm, at least calm enough to explain what was going on.  
  
"I know you gave a Royal Directive! Tell me what it was, the exact words. I have known Conquest longer than you have been alive and no matter how many times he is reincarnated his core is the same and behaves in simple, predictable patterns. Give me the data, and I can tell you exactly what his response is."  
  
"He can," Ulquiorra supplied, holding a barrier over Gin with one hand and fixing a broken wall with the other. "He can do it to all of us except you, and he can accurately predict even your behavior nearly sixty-four percent of the time, Ichigo. But you must be calm enough to supply the information he needs."  
  
Taking a deep breath, the King closed his eyes. The library righted itself, as though he'd never had his outburst. To the point that even the papers and books that had been out and open and being used were back in the places they were. He took another breath, and a static shock ran through everything backwards. Another couple of breaths and he re-opened his eyes, looking defeated.  
  
"It doesn't matter. I've reversed it. There's no help for it, I suppose. Eventually, I'll probably be all fat and ugly and he won't want me anyways." He re-took the seat he had taken when he first arrived to find comfort from his twin.  
  
Lips pursing, Aizen marched straight up to the pregnant man and put a strong hand on his shoulder, the other tilting his chin up so he looked him in the eye, chestnut to amber. "This is _important_. Even if you undid it, he will still follow through on the behavior and _I need to know what he is doing_. Even though he is Awake as a Horseman, this _does not make him immortal_. He is just as mortal as he ever was, merely a hell of a lot harder to kill, and there are certain situations that always, I repeat, always, as in _one hundred percent of the time_ these situations and events occur, that he goes _running headlong into death_ immediately afterwards. Now. What. Did. You. Direct?" His wings were dyed orange-yellow with worry and streaked with a disturbing murky brown: worry and fear.  
  
"I...I told him that the twins would be born looking just like him, and that...that he'd have to beg me to forgive him..."  
  
Even as he said it a second time, Ichigo knew as surely now as he had then, how horribly wrong it had been to say it. His lover was proud, bowed down for no man, and would never grovel, even if he was commanded to do so. It was one of the things that had made him fall in love with the vibrant feline man the first time he laid eyes on him, before all of this nonsense with prophecies and magic had consumed his life. He couldn't even meet Aizen's gaze and tears, fat and heavy, began to fall anew, though this time tinged in despair, making gentle silver-grey clouds gather outside, drizzling.  
  
"Oh thank the Abyss," the butterfly breathed. "His reaction to that is easily remedied."  
  
Ulquiorra looked at him in confusion. "He would see that as a betrayal by his mate. How is that easy?"  
  
"Ichigo merely needs to admit what he knows already, that to give such an order was wrong. His reaction to rage is volatile, his reaction to _hurt_ on the other hand is nearly formula. First, he will bathe, then he will seek out comfort, and then he will go to bed to try and persuade himself that he isn't actually emotionally hurt. It's the seeking out comfort where we might run into a problem," Aizen added thoughtfully, tapping his chin.  
  
Ulquiorra frowned. "How so?"  
  
"Well, Grimmjow seeks comfort differently depending on how hurt he is. For something this severe, he's beyond looking for sex...but being feline, he wants touch. He will go to the priestesses for pampering. But his position will be highly compromising and may send Ichigo into a whole new fit." A look of concern crossed the Third's face and his wings reflected that emotion.  
  
"That's ok. I don't really want him to see me like this anyway." Ichigo drew his feet up onto the couch and wrapped his arms around his knees. "I may Direct him again...and I don't wanna do that."  
  
Shiro, having no words to comfort his King, merely sat down next to the orangette and held him. Pulling him to his chest and stroking his hair, much the same way as had been done for him in the past. Gin also floated over to add his own comfort, if he could, but it did little to soothe the ache developing under the King's breastbone.  
  
"It's like...all I am anymore is the King. Even you guys don't treat me the same. There's always this fear that I'm gonna say something that can't be reversed, and I get it. I do. I can handle it from you guys. Even Horse, here, and Rage, but Grimm...he always looked beyond my mask. He always knew me, even better than I knew myself it seemed, and now...the longer he's away from me, the less he knows me. It wasn't much at first, but now...now I don't think he even knows my name." The King buried his face in his knees.  
  
That...niggled something in Aizen's mind. It did, but he couldn't quite...bring it into the light. He was sure it would come out later, for now he stroked Ichigo's hair and made a soothing sound under his breath.  
  
Grimmjow, meanwhile, clean now, was indeed lounging naked in the laps of three different priestesses, having oils massaged into his non-furry skin and purring like a truck engine. Like all cats, he just _loved_ to be pampered.  
  
Gin took in the situation, poofed out of the library, checked on his kits, then appeared in the room with the feline. "We gotta talk, Kitty-kun."  
  
One ear perked and swiveled his way, but he didn't open an eye and his long, muscled body didn't so much as twitch. Disturb this lovely massage? Not unless his mate needed him.  
  
"Mah. Ok. Then I'll talk an' ya c'n listen." The kitsune's tails twitched, 'accidentally' smacking two of the priestesses' behinds on his way past as he paced the room. "Y'know me an' Tiger 're real grateful fer all th' help ya've given us. What wit' th' conflict thing an' th' kits an' him bouncin' back an' forth. Thanks fer settin' that up by th' way. But, now it's m' turn ta give it back ta ya. Ichi-kun's all in knots. He ain't used ta dealin' wit' this shit. Least o' all the twins. I mean, 'M a kitsune, we're born fer it, he was human. Human males can't get preggers. At least...not wi'out Directive. So, he's been workin' his ass off tryin' ta learn all this shit that comes easy fer all'a us, an' at th' same time he's had ta watch ya run off an' do all the shit ya've been doin' an' I think it's gettin' ta him. Now, he's all knock-knocked an' he don't know where it came from. Nobody seems ta, or if they do, nobody's sayin' anythin'. So, ya come home, an' th' first thing ya ask him 'bout it, is who he's been sleepin' wit'? I think I'd be more'n a little upset at that m'self. He says all ya see in him anymore is th' King, an' he's more'n that. That ya used ta know him better, er somethin'...I sorta dozed out a little when he was talkin' 'bout that stuff, but it sounds ta me like instead'a runnin' away, ya should be cuddlin' up ta him. Ya know, like ya told Tiger ta do wit' me a couple months ago," He flushed a deep scarlet, "when I was nestin' so bad he could find anywhere ta sleep cuz I'd stolen all th' blankets. Ya told him ta go sleep wit' me in my nest, an' he did an' it stopped bein' a problem. Sah...mebbe, I'll talk ta Tora 'bout it, an' get ya a week er so ta stay home an' reconnect wit' him. How's that sound?"  
  
Conquest rolled onto his stomach, propping his chin on his crossed arms and frowning. "...only if 'e ain't gunna Direct me like tha' again. Y know I can't handle it, Gin. I jus' can't."  
  
The kitsune ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "Ya know he don't mean it. I think if ya gave him half th' chance he'd reverse anythin' he said. That's what he did wit' this one anyway. Said he didn't want ta Direct ya anyway."  
  
"A'right. I'll go talk ta 'im."  
  
Hopping to his paws, armor rippled up out of his skin to cover his nudity and the panther disappeared, taking off to go find his mate to comfort him. They could straighten things out when they weren't so strung out and stressed. They didn't make sense of each other when they were both under this much pressure.  
  
Gin rolled his eyes and wandered off to find his own mate. He needed something to chew on, damnit...maybe the redhead would be up for a blowjob.            


	4. Grimmjow? Who's Grimmjow?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny, implied lemon in this, but not the full thing. I know, we're such a tease. lol. Enjoy. Ja ne!

Meanwhile, Ichigo was in what they called the living room. It had once been the chapel, with high vaulted ceilings and stained glass and ornate carvings that all looked eerily like either himself or his father. It had bothered him so much that as soon as he'd first seen it he'd decided that if the priests wanted someplace where they could come and pray to him—AKA talk with him—he'd make one. Thus stained glass had been replaced with clear, and long, warm curtains had been hung. Hard, wooden pews were replaced with cushions, couches and chairs. And the vaulted ceiling had been lowered through some careful magicking by Shiro, Aizen and Ulquiorra to create a loft space where meditation could still take place, but wouldn't be in the middle of things, nor have people's conversations interrupting them.  
  
It was on one of these couches that Ichigo lay, holding his wallet, and staring up mournfully at a picture of himself, Shiro, Renji and Grimmjow from the year before. It had been the end of summer, just before the start of fall semester and they'd gone to the beach. Shiro had been burned to a crisp thanks to the sun. Renji'd gotten pinched by a crab. Grimmjow had been dunked by falling—'I was pushed damnit!'—off the dock. And Ichigo, himself, had wound up with sand in more places than he'd known he had. But all in all it was one of the best days of his life, because after that Grimmjow had taken him aside and asked to marry him. The engagement ring was a simple silver band, designed to keep things hidden and in secret, because they hadn't been ready to tell anyone yet, but before they could all of this nonsense with the King and the Four and everything had pushed it to the back burner. So, now, feeling more lonely than he had in years, Ichigo fingered the simple band he never took out of his wallet and gazed longingly at a time that he knew would never come again.  
  
And then all of a sudden there was blue hair. On his wallet, in his face, all over the place—and it was a familiar situation. Before Grimmjow had gotten it cut for their beach trip—'Like fucking _hell_ I'm keeping all this when it's gonna be _that fucking hot._ Who'd'ya think I am? _Renji?_ '—it had, as it did now, reached his hips, and he frequently caused it to get in Ichigo's way like a soft blue curtain. The reason for this was the abrupt appearance of his cat on the back of the couch, perched delicately on all his paws.  
  
"Mate. Come, nest with me." It wasn't a demand, but it wasn't quite a suggestion either.  
  
Letting the folded leather cover most of his face, wide, lost, tearful eyes looked up at the face the King dreamt about more than saw these days. "Y-you aren't mad at me?" He hated how his voice wavered.  
  
"Don't be silly. I love you." Conquest leaned down, kissing him gently, softly. With the sort of slow heat only he was capable of. "Gin said ya din't mean to," he murmured after the kiss ended. "An' tha' yer no' gonna do it again, if ya can help it. So it'd be stupid to be mad at'cha."  
  
"B-but..." All of his precious control threatened to break. He'd just gotten to the point where he could sit quietly without things falling off of their shelves, or making the weather change. "Ok..."  
  
The orangette's voice was small, but he got up carefully to avoid knocking into the feline. Then started off for their quarters, looking over his shoulder only once when he reached the door to their bedroom hoping that the offer hadn't just been made for nothing. He didn't think he could take it if his lover pulled away from him right now.  
  
The panther had to shift when Ichigo's turn to look altered his stride—he was following so closely on his mate's heels, and walking on his back paws, that he nearly ran into him. He blinked at his mate and gave him a little smile, nuzzling his shoulder.  
  
"Everything is better in the morning after nesting with your mate," the First assured confidently.  
  
"Ok..." Ichigo actually turned around completely and looked up into the cerulean eyes he thought he knew so well. Fear lingered beneath the surface of his own gaze, but he wrapped his arms around his Consort's neck. "I...missed you, Grimm." He watched carefully for the feline's response.  
  
Again with that strange name. Why did he keep calling for that 'Grimm' person? Conquest dismissed it in favor of comforting his mate, nuzzling and kissing him as he picked him up in his arms. He was going to tuck his heart into their nest and not come out until morning.  
  
"I missed you, my love."  
  
The orangette pulled back, "My love?" He echoed. "You never use nicknames like that. You've always called me 'Kitten' or...um..." He blushed deeply, because his blue-haired lover was NOT allowed to use the other one outside of the bedroom, "Strawberry. Are you ok?"  
  
The feline tilted his head. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? And can't I be allowed to get a little…stupid...and mushy," he flushed brightly, "after not seeing my mate for four months? I'd like to think I can be a stupid romantic sap just once," he pouted.  
  
Now that Ichigo had said so, 'Kitten' sounded like a much better name to call his cherished lover.  
  
Ichigo flushed deeper. "No, I guess not. It just caught me off guard. You argued with me so hard about the fact that you hated it when tough guys turned sappy just cuz they found somebody to love."  
  
His infamous 'Grimmjow Grin™' returned for the first time in a long time and he kissed him again—this time hard and fierce, true to his nature, pulling the smaller body up against his own and taking possession.  
  
"Don' get used ta it, Kitten," he purred after they broke for air, "I don' plan on bein' away from ya tha' long often."  
  
That look made him feel about a million times better. "There it is. That's my Grimmjow." He dove in for another, more heated kiss.  
  
Conquest's brief mental question of 'who the hell is Grimmjow' was immediately overridden by his mate's kiss, returning it with equal heat and fervor with his dominant nature thrown in on top as he manhandled his lover into their bed-nest.  
  
Wrapping his legs around the blunette's waist, the King murmured against his lover's lips, "Take your human form...please? I wanna have you fuck the loneliness out of me."  
  
Human form? Which human form? He'd had so many over the years… "I uh...don' think I can. The barbs are already out," he replied, making an excuse. It was true—the barbs on his length were already out, and it would be horrifyingly uncomfortable to shift to human form now, but not impossible.  
  
Ichigo looked down, "...barbs?!" The look on his face was half intrigue, half concern. Then he looked back up. "Barbs." And a dangerous smile crossed his features. He practically purred the subtle order, "Fuck me, Grimmy. Show me what those barbs will do to my prostate."  
  
The panther pushed the King down onto his back, grinning like the predator he was. "Now that's a Directive I c'n happily follow, Kitten," he purred. "You oughta issue more o' those."  
  
His armor disappeared in a flash of light, leaving his very hard, visibly barbed cock ready to go as his claws made quick work of Ichigo's garb.  
  
It was several hours, and several rounds, later, when Ichigo finally called a stop to the love-making. Apparently now, calling the blunette's name made him more interested in fucking the King senseless than anything else ever had. He'd screamed his lover's name with the first orgasm, and that had initiated a second round. Murmuring his favorite nickname had made the feline Horseman carry number two straight into number three, and then number four with hardly any time in between. By now, the orangette was so thoroughly ravished, aching and sweaty, with fluids pouring from his behind equally as congealing and cold as the ones on his belly, that he was sure if he wasn't already knocked up, that would have done it. And now, somewhere around round six—or was it seven? He'd lost count—the panther was mouthing his shoulder, purring and grinding against him.  
  
"Grimm...I know we haven't been together for a while, but...can we not make up the whole four months in one night? Please"  
  
His feline mate raised an eyebrow. "Wha', yer done this early? Ya ain't even gone cooked-noodle-limp yet," he teased.  
  
He was faintly irritated by his mate's constant calling for this damn 'Grimm'. Did he not just fuck him eight times in a row so well his eyes crossed when he came? Was he not enough for his mate? He had to be. He nipped, licked, and nuzzled at his neck, tail curling contently at the man he loved.  
  
"Heh...I'm exhausted. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in four months thanks to getting used to that purr you make when you're content, and for the last two weeks I've been hauled out of bed at dawn every morning to puke regardless of whether I've eaten anything the night before or not. So, how about next time, you carry the kid and I'll get to complain about not having sex a tenth or whatever round." Amusement shone in that tired smile, and though he wasn't exactly grinding against the attention, he certainly wasn't pulling away from it.  
  
That was a good point. His mate was pregnant and shouldn't be unduly stressed. So he kissed him sweetly, pulling away and settling on his side, nipping and laving at his mating bite. "Fair 'nough, Kitten. Let's git some sleep, ne?"  
  
Ichigo turned over, and curled into his Consort's shoulder with a small sigh. He linked his fingers with that strange, half-paw hand and rubbed his cheek against it. Then he held it close like a favored stuffed toy, and murmured, sleep already pulling at his mind, "I love you, Grimm."  
  
That made the horseman's chest stutter and ache. And still his mate confused him for 'Grimm'. Was this stranger using an illusion or spell to make him believe that this Grimm and he were the same?  
  
"I love you, Kitten," he murmured, burying his face in orange spikes. "Never fergit it."  
  
In the morning…in the morning he would go hunting for this, this 'Grimm'.  
  
The next day started as usual, but for one exception, when the King awoke to the pangs of nausea like clockwork, he immediately held out his hand and mumbled without fully waking up, "I wish I had a hot cup of that potion Shiro found for me from yesterday."  
  
Reality rippled and the mug from yesterday appeared in his hand with the same foul-smelling, yet appetizing concoction in it. He downed it in one go, just like yesterday, and finally sat up completely to look around. The bed had been rearranged into a huge, bunched up nest at some point during the night, and his mate was conspicuously missing, but that wasn't too odd. The feline usually woke up first, and often went to clean up or search out something or another.  
  
Unknown to his mate, said feline had gone hunting for this 'Grimm'. He hadn't found any strange scents or leads, so now, very frustrated, he was in the kitchen gnawing on a bit of breakfast. Ham, he thought, but he hadn't been paying the best attention and had just taken whatever the oven had cooked this morning.  
  
Dressing for the day, Ichigo walked through the courtyard and into the common room once his stomach had settled enough for movement.  
  
"Grimm?" He called, uncertain where the blunette had wandered off to, but slightly concerned. He tried to write it off as nerves having been separated for so long, but it niggled at the back of his head.  
  
Conquest's ears flicked, but he didn't reply. He was rather hoping Grimm would answer his mate and come when called for a change, so the First could have a 'talk' with him.  
  
Two more repetitions of the man's name without answer had the King scowling and his pace picked up, until he reached the kitchen, where he saw his lover at the table.  
  
"There you are. Why didn't you answer me? I know you had to have heard me."  
  
The panther gave him the blankest, most confused and frustrated look he'd ever worn, swallowing and shoving his plate aside. "Of course I heard'ja. Why would I answer yer call fer another man?"  
  
"A-another...?" Ichigo's frowned deepened. "I wasn't calling for someone else. I was calling for you. Grimmjow." Was his lover under a spell that he couldn't hear properly?  
  
The blunette grumbled and rubbed his temples. "No yer not. I dunno who th' fuck this 'Grimmjow' is, an' frankly I'm gettin' tired o' hearin' his name, but tha' ain't m'name, King."  
  
"Y-yes, it is." The monarch stammered, blinking. "You're Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, my lover, my other half, the one who keeps me sane when Shiro's going off on his...well, not so stupid anymore...his tangents about magic and shit. You laugh with me, you've fought with me. Hell! You cried with me! After flunking out of school, and being locked in prison, and having to do God only knows what to make rent for the last three years, don't you dare sit there and tell me you aren't who I agreed to marry!" He fumbled with his wallet and slammed the ring down on the table.  
  
He stared at the ring. Hard. The silver shone in his cerulean eyes, and he frowned as he reached out to touch it. The second he did, his pupils shrank to slits and he started to whimper, whining as he withdrew his hand to clutch as his head with both of them, his whine rising to a scream until he curled into a ball and fell silent and immobile. Frozen.  
  
Ichigo's eyebrows arched up in fear, and he clutched his wallet to his chest. Had he issued a Directive? He hadn't felt the power surge he normally did, but he hadn't minced his words either, because it was all true. At least...he thought it was. He hadn't undone history had he? He bit his lip, and reached out tentatively to touch the rounded back of his lover.  
  
"G-Grimm?"  
  
There was no response for several long, frightening moments. "Git...g-git...A...Ai...Aiz-Aizen," he finally managed to force out, body still locked in a ball. The butterfly would know what to do. He would know what was wrong.  
  
Unable to move, the King Called, terrified and using a Name he'd only ever use when this panicked, "Sousuke!"  
  
Aizen appeared with a startled pop! stumbling a bit as he hit the floor, and looking highly alarmed. "Ichigo, what's the matter?"  
  
The orangette simply pointed at the shivering, huddled ball that had been his lover...no, had been someone who he thought was his lover. His head was beginning to hurt, but his heart hurt more.  
  
Aizen frowned, then picked the other up and pressed their foreheads together, looking into his mind. After a moment or two, he stumbled back and swore loudly.  
  
"Fuck! He's gone and forgotten who he is!"  
  
"Wh-which means what exactly?" Stumbling into a chair, Ichigo reached out a hand and the coffee pot poured a cup of the same concoction into the mug that appeared there, in spite of the fact that the liquid in the glass pitcher was actually coffee.  
  
"It means when he Awakened, all of his human lives were shoved aside to make room for his role as Conquest, the First Horseman. As a result, these lives were never integrated into his memory and when he went back to work in that role, he forgot those lives and everything that happened in them. Including his most recent life—his life as 'Grimmjow'. His various lives are all fighting in his memory right now, struggling to be the one he remembers and draws on, and might I add Grimmjow is fighting quite viciously to get back to you, leaving him in this comatose state. I need Shiro for this spell, please summon him."  
  
In the butterfly's arms, Grimmjow whimpered, eyes squeezing shut.  
  
Ichigo sucked in a breath. He'd gained enough control that to summon, as he had Aizen, he needed to use given names, and well, Shiro was very picky about his given name. But Grimmjow needed him, and if what Aizen needed to help Grimmjow was for him to summon his twin, he'd do it, "Kenji"  
  
Shiro was pulled into the kitchen in much the same way as Aizen, a rant already on his tongue. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAFTA TELL YA—!?" The orangette cut him off with a forceful grip on the albino's chin so that he had to look at Aizen and the feline. "Well, shit." Was all he said in response.  
  
"I need the mind-separation spell." The Third explained quickly, setting the cat-who-would-be-Grimmjow in the middle of the kitchen floor once the table had moved out of the way. "I'll set up the spell circles, you look up the spell, we need to move fast before any one life has the chance to win and erase the others."  
  
"Right." Shiro was gone again in an instant, and back with a subtle puff of sulfur-like smoke carrying a thick book opened to a page somewhere in the middle. "I need at least th' Diagram of Achilles an' th' Mantra of Osiris, but ya better include th' Ashvins as well. Karma only knows what kind o' mental soup that feline is carrying 'round an' I want as tight a control over this as possible." He only looked up then, "King, ya better step back. This is some heavy shit an' I don' want m' nephews exposed ta it."  
  
The orangette complied, watching in awe a bit, as his twin dashed around the kitchen collecting herbs and spices that the King had previously only thought of as cooking ingredients.  
  
Aizen's magic was laying out complicated runes and circles and patterns on the floor in a huge circle, surrounding them both with such rapidity it would be amazing if the reason for it wasn't so urgent and worrying. The panther could only rock where he was balled up, keening as his soul was batted between different sets of memories and his mind was torn through over and over.  
  
The albino—no, the Mage watched until the circle was complete. This was his element, his job. He fixed things with the Court, medic, accountant, and psychologist in one—sort of. He nodded to Aizen and he brought the book up in front of his chest, the pages whirring open to the right spell. Then he began chanting in some language Ichigo thought he might understand if he listened harder but didn't try. The appliances all huddled on their counters, watching, as the lights dimmed around the room and a shaft of power illuminated the circle where Shiro stood over the black, white and blue feline with the hand not holding the book stretched out with the palm down. A wind blew within the circle and balls of light began to spiral out of the feline, pulling clumps of fur with them, leaving behind a very naked, very human Grimmjow.  
  
He was still holding his head, rocking back and forth harder now, as Aizen's strong voice joined in with a second chant, in the same almost-familiar language, and he put his hand directly on the blunette's forehead. Both of their heads snapped back, eyes glowing with bright white light, mouths open in a soundless scream.  
  
This was the important part, the climax of the spell. Shiro added his other hand in hovering over his focus, the book suspended in mid-air by the force of the power inside the circle. Both palms glowed brightly, forcing the memories to organize themselves like so many soldiers on a battlefield. The spell grew stronger, heavy with power, and the words became more jumbled as they echoed through the fabric of reality. Reaching a fever pitch, amid the chaos, Shiro's voice rang out, clear and as forceful as Ichigo's, in a solid Directive.  
  
 _"Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, remember yourself."_


	5. Really Coming Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a pun in the title. >:3

Both Horsemen shuddered and, as one, screamed as the Directive took hold and forcibly brought the King's Consort back to himself, Aizen being thrown from his mind and soul to fly out of the circle and across the room, wings bending out of shape and his glasses shattering after falling off his nose.  
  
The large man swayed for a moment before collapsing, the magic-made circles all around him fading.  
  
Shiro, panting heavily himself, just barely caught the book before it dropped onto the blunette's pretty spikey head, and stumbled back a half-step. His second Directive, and the only one he actively knew about. It took a bit out of him. As soon as it was safe for him to move again, he sank into the chair where Ichigo had been enjoying his tea, and the coffeepot tentatively brought the Mage a cup of the steaming caffeinated beverage along with a chocolate muffin for both protein and endorphins.  
  
"Ya c'n come back in now, King."  
  
The orangette hesitated, but complied, stopping just behind his twin, watching his lover.  
  
Aizen slid to the floor with a groan, and that seemed to trigger Grimmjow, because he rose slowly to his feet, looking around in confusion until his eyes landed on his Ichi. He immediately went to him, grabbed him around the waist, and kissed him hard and fiercely. This, at least, he knew. This was familiar. This was his.  
  
Ichigo squeaked, kissing back but pulling back almost at the same time. "Grimm?" He was almost afraid to ask.  
  
He gave a little grin. "Yep. Sorry fer bein' a fuckin' idiot fer th' past couple days." He held his husband against his chest, nuzzling into his hair. "At least I never fergot th' most important part. Th' part where yer mine an' I'm yers."  
  
Here came the part that really had the King's heart clenching, "A-and...do you...I mean...the...um..." His eyebrows drew together and he bit his lip, his hands together over his belly button. His voice was soft, almost pitiful, but he had to make sure that Grimmjow knew for a fact, "I didn't cheat on you."  
  
"Okay," he said simply, hand coming down to rub his belly. "Then I guess it must'a been a magic thing," he added, nuzzling into his lover's hair again.  
  
"I guess..." Ichigo tried to lean into that comfort, he really did, but the thing just kept circling in his thoughts. "I've held off saying this because I didn't want to know without you, but," He drew back again to look up into his lover's eyes. "I wish...I wish I knew how this happened."  
  
Between them played the memory of Shiro's wish, his Directive, as he looked at Gin's new kits, then the image flashed over to Ichigo's stomach, where an embryo spontaneously formed and then divided into two because of the demand that the heir to the King's line be a twin.  
  
"You!" Ichigo wasn't sure whether he wanted to glare or pounce his brother.  
  
Shiro, who was nibbling on his muffin, looked up, wide-eyed, and mumbled around said muffin, "Me?"  
  
"If I wasn't so happy about this I'd hurt you. Next time you decide to use the words 'I wish', dear brother, kindly talk to me about it first?!"  
  
"Sure." The albino smirked.  
  
The King's eyes narrowed. "What?"  
  
"Guess ya aren't th' only one Cosmos listens ta anymore." Shiro snickered, barely containing his amusement.  
  
Grimmjow chuckled, kissing Ichigo to distract him and rubbing his stomach with both hands. "Well, 'e did only wish for your happiness," he purred, nuzzling into his mate's neck.  
  
He did love him so dearly, had missed him horribly, and then he hadn't remembered who he was and had caused his mate distress. Though the fucking him stupid all night long, he liked that.  
  
Ichigo huffed, but leaned back into the warmth, strength and comfort of his mate. All at one he looked up, "No more four month assignments. I'm grateful for your help with War but from now on...Grimmjow...I want you home with me every night. At least until the twins are born, deal?"  
  
Shiro took another bite of his muffin, grabbed his coffee, and Aizen, and hauled them both out of the kitchen faster than anyone could blink, grateful to the First for saving his hide. The last thing he wanted to do, even when not on his brother's shit list, was intrude on his King reconnecting with his Consort, and the tone in Ichigo's voice...? Reconnecting was going to happen in more than one way if the albino read it correctly.  
  
Grimmjow blinked at him and kissed him deeply. "Deal," he purred, hands coming up under the orangette's rear to hold him against his body, eyes closing. His. This was all his.  
  
Ichigo dove into the kiss with a moan, grinding his hips against his lover's torso when he wrapped his legs around the blunette's waist. He leaned his forehead against Grimmjow's, "Wanna see a trick I learned?"  
  
He practically giggled and without waiting for the other man's response, he Blinked them back into their bedroom with a small puff of sulfurous smoke, just like Shiro had done earlier. Then he was all over his Consort, kissing, licking, biting, sucking. They may have had sex nine times the night before, but this time, he knew who was holding him, who was touching him, and who was on the other end of his soul.  
  
Grimmjow moaned in some surprise as he was magically manhandled by his mate, shuddering and kissing back just as hard with a purr and a swift grope.  
  
Feeling the skin under his fingers, tasting it, and really inhaling Grimmjow's scent seemed to flip a switch in Ichigo, because now, he couldn't keep himself from exploring every inch of his lover as best he could. He used his weight to topple them back onto the bed, where he sat back to discard the robe he wore, revealing that he had nothing on underneath. This brought their arousals into contact and the orangette moaned before diving back into a frantic round of kisses.  
  
Grimmjow had no idea why his mate was so enthusiastic, but like hell was he complaining! He moaned again, rubbing up against his mate, purring and twitching, kneading at the bed.  
  
"You...Mmm...taste...Mmm...so good." Ichigo panted between kisses.  
  
This was what homecoming had been supposed to be like. The orangette trailed a line of nipping, and sucking down the hard planes of Grimmjow's chest, running his tongue along every dip and curve, tasting everything until he came to the blue curls that had astounded him the first time he'd ever seen them. He nuzzled his way all the way around the hard shaft, straining above his line of vision. Then with precision and delicacy, he trailed up the length to suckle on the tip, drinking down the precome like it was the nectar of life.  
  
The Consort hissed in pure pleasure, heavy thighs twitching, toes curling as his eyes fluttered shut. "Ooh...oh Ichi...fuck, fuck, I thought ya…" he hissed, "di'n't like ta..."  
  
"Dunno..." The orangette sucked him down and came back up to clean off his saliva. "You just taste amazing. Like...peaches...no...raspberries." He chuckled, slinking back up his lover's body, "Blue raspberries." He licked his lips and latched onto the lobe of the closest ear, moaning and grinding his groin against the other's.  
  
Grimmjow's hips bucked and he moaned hard and loud as his hand went looking for and seized Ichigo's dick to start stroking. "Well then, 'M glad I do taste like whatever I taste like 'cuz fuck I been missin' yer mouth!"  
  
The sound that came from the King was like nothing he'd ever made before, and it was downright sinful, like the worst of the sluts that hung around campus, enough to make a hardened sex demon blush. His hips bucked lightly, adding to his lover's touch, as his fingers curled on the blunette's chest. Grimmjow ducked down and sucked at his nipples as he continued to stroke, growling and purring at him, toes curling. For all the Gods, his mate felt so good!  
  
"Ah...G-grimm! That's so...s-sensitive!" He stuttered, voice hiccupping with every brush of that tongue across his nipple.  
  
The King may have initiated this frantic pace but now he was becoming thoroughly undone. The blunette purred into the sensitive flesh. He was good with that, really. Making his mate come undone and go mad was something he adored, and he rutted against him happily.  
  
"W-want you...in...ah...inside...please?" Ichigo panted, pressing himself down into his lover, begging for every touch and barely able to hold himself back, but gripped with the pleasure of truly being with his Consort.  
  
Grimmjow growled playfully and summoned the slick. Now that he had his powers back it didn't take him but a curl of his fingers and a string of neon blue energy. He slathered his fingers to start spreading it inside his husband.  
  
"Oh...oh...oh! Grrrrrimmmmm..." Ichigo moaned, grinding back against those thick digits, his cock leaking and toes and fingers curling. He needed this, needed it like a drowning man needed air.  
  
The larger male's teeth left his nipples to attach to his throat, fingers coating and stretching before he slapped the leftover lubricant on his dick and pulled his lover into position. Wanton little whore that he had become, Ichigo almost didn't let the blunette control the pace. Of course, this was usually the part where he deliberately forced himself to stop and got the jute cords out, but this time...there wasn't time. He needed Grimmjow inside of him NOW! He pressed back against the blunt head of his lover's cock, his stretched entrance kissing it and trying to swallow the length before they were both ready.  
  
The blunette purred and growled and thrust inside in a single long push. Then he kissed his mate, petting his hair and sides. He loved him so much. He would worship his mate…soon. Not just now. But soon, very soon.  
  
Grinding down without waiting to adjust, Ichigo had never felt so full, so complete, so perfect during their joinings before, even after Awakening. This time, it was just so much more. The orangette dove into that sinful mouth again, doing what he could to try and let Grimmjow lead, but failing fairly spectacularly due to how desperately he wanted the larger man. But the blunette didn't care—it was always better when his mate participated. He held onto his neck hard, lovingly starting to thrust at a hard, quick, animalistic pace.  
  
Ichigo met those thrusts, grunting and moaning with every breath. Small sounds of pleasure, breathed directly into the larger man's ear, as his hands curled over his lover's pectorals for leverage, driving their pace higher. A hand on his hips helped him thrust faster and harder, growling uncontrollably as he heard hissed love-talk in his ear and thick, deliciously calloused fingers stroked his cock between them.  
  
"Mmm gonna...oh...Grimm...it's so...Ngh." He alternatively impaled himself and thrust into his lover's hand. This all-consuming desire had him driving them toward climax at a break-neck pace.  
  
Grimmjow wasn't much better, mashing his prostate with the head of his cock as his hips came off the bed on each thrust, hammering him.  
  
"F-fill me, Grimm." Ichigo panted. He was so close, so...desperately...close  
  
With a roar into his neck, the blunette thrust as deep as possible and came violently, doing just that, toes curling and teeth biting down. His mate!  
  
Teeth! That was it! An electric shock ripped through his body, and he erupted between them, ropes of thick, white spunk coating their chests at the same time as his inner muscles milked his lover for all he was worth. He panted heavily, cooing and making noises of contentment against his husband's neck.  
  
When Grimmjow let go and licked his lips, he was panting. Uncontrollably so. He collapsed onto the bed, eyes slamming shut as his hands kneaded like the content cat he was. "Fuccccckkk Ichi...love you…so much."  
  
"I love you too, Grimm...an' I think...ah..." Ichigo couldn't help the way his hips hitched, "I think...if...they weren't already...I think this solidifies it. They're yours now, no matter how they were conceived at first." He purred, burying his face in the crook of his Consort's neck like it was specifically designed for him.  
  
The First cradled his lover happily, petting his back and ass. "Even if they hadn'ta been, even if they'da been Shiro's, I'd love 'em regardless," he purred in promise.  
  
The King yawned, hugely. "I know. But I'm glad they're yours anyway. I wouldn't wanna go through this with anybody else."  
  
"You think it'll be that bad now that we can control the mornin' sickness?" A single cerulean eye peered down at the form collapsed on his chest.  
  
"I hope not." Amber rolled up sleepily with a small smile.  
  
The lovers chatted for a while, reconnecting a more personal manner, but outside the North building, a sly creature smiled, proud of what he'd accomplished. Sure, most of the heavy work had been handled by the Mage, but…he'd done his fair share too.  
  
"That wasn't nice, love." The rumbling voice that could only be his lover broke through his thoughts.  
  
"Mah. What wasn't nice?" The kitsune grinned, tilting his head in an attempt at innocence.  
  
"Lacin' th' coffeepot wit'cher love dust. Th' two o' them have enough issues wi'out ye interferin'." The redhead tried to be stern, he really did, but that fox-man was just too cute.  
  
"I dunno. Ya enjoy it when I use it on ya." Gin purred, coming over to wrap himself around his mate.  
  
"Yeah, but tha's diff'rent. C'mon, let's leave 'em ta their bondin'." Renji scooped up his mate and Flit them back to their own private quarters.  
  
Unbeknownst to either couple, a pair of sad, sienna eyes watched them both from a respectable distance. He sipped his tea, fluttered his wings and nodded to himself. Just before leaving his cocoon, he'd located where he needed to go—a small town in the deciduous North-East of a country called America. It would be several years before he could make his move, but at least he knew where he was going now, and he knew a name—Shinji Hirako. Maybe…maybe this time…

**End Part 3**


End file.
